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August 28, 2007
Thinking out loud as I usually do, it came up in a conversation that I should become regular contributor to Marqui’s Blog. It has felt a little quiet on our company blog so weekly I’ll be sharing my thoughts and I welcome your comments and feedback. *handshake*
Viral Web Marketing – 6 Tips
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about new tips for viral marketing. It is a marketing practice that facilitates and encourages people to communicate and pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral marketing campaigns are also known as word-of-mouth campaigns, referral marketing or network marketing.
To date, viral marketing is the most cost effective form of marketing and can produce a powerful impact. Using viral marketing, your campaigns will suddenly get a life of its own - and start to spread like wildfire.
Here is a recent Viral Marketing campaign we all have seen lately from Dove:
August 25, 2006
As of 8:00 a.m. PDT this morning, Google had indexed 1516 stories written about Pluto's fall from planet status - to 'dwarf planet.' And for some reason, I'm compelled to write about it, too. I know Pluto has little to do - on the surface - with Marketing, but I think the whole notion of positioning comes into play here.
While astronomers have been arguing about it for many years, I believe the results of the vote - on whether to adopt the new definition (positioning statement, if you will) of a planet, or not - took most of us by surprise. Sure, I've been hearing rumblings for a few weeks that Pluto was either endangered in its planetary status, or we'd suddenly have even more planets in our solar system.
So when I heard the news yesterday, it was like hearing that there was no Santa Claus. Or that Enron had been finally de-listed from the stock exchange. I might understand how it's possible, but really? I spent my swim last night watching the stars slowly emerge in the sky, and it kind of sunk in.
We only have eight planets.
Of all the changes I've personally been through in the past three weeks/six months/seven years/49 years, this one just seems more than a little senseless to me.
Talk about a ripple effect of making a tiny change in positioning - think of all the textbooks and maps that need to be revised. Will we pull Pluto from 'Principia' (one of my favorite things)about the Oregon Convention Center? How will astrologers react?
I guess we never really grow up. And changes never stop. I just wonder sometimes (when contemplating the universe from a pool in Portland), what's next?
August 15, 2006
As Janet mentioned in her most recent post, I've decided to accept a position with another company (Waggener Edstrom, to be precise). My last day is approaching pretty fast and I'll admit that one of the things I have been stressing about is what to put in my last "official" Marqui post.
Do I aim for insightful? Humorous?
Of course, the more I stress about it, the worse my blogger's block gets. I actually started scanning through all of my old blog posts to see if I could just find a few favorites to call out. There are certainly a couple that I am stupidly proud of (the wire services review, for instance)...a couple that are of - ahem - dubious quality ...and more than a few that are just plain odd (see exhibits a, b and c).
And then there's my very first post. Not exactly the best blog ever written...but hey, it was my first one. And at least I didn't title it "to blog or not to blog." (I still REALLY hate that phrase.)
As I flipped through all of these entries, it really struck me what an outstanding couple of years I've had at Marqui. I've learned so much here, and I attribute a lot of that to blogging. This probably isn't exactly what the "powers that be" at Marqui really had in mind when they asked me to blog, but we'll just call it an added benefit.
Thank you very, very much to everyone (readers, coworkers, bloggers and especially Janet) for making this such a great experience.
July 24, 2006
We're all sweating under the swealtering sun these days. And those of us who choose to live in the Northwest are especially grousy about the heat.
No matter that we generally have electricity, and we're likely to work in offices with air conditioning. We grouse anyway.
I found this photo that reminds me of the beauty of water and sun together. It's from a trip I took a couple of years ago to the Amalfi Coast of Italy.
There were seven of us, and we stayed in a place called the Cave of Figs, which was a home a doctor there spent 30 years literally carving along a cliff.
I can sit here in Portland, Oregon, and remember vividly how it felt. It was hot, much like it is today. The pool was divine. Frankly, the insects were miserable, as was I most of the time I was out of the water.
But my memories of the time, the pool, our friends (and even the heat) are golden.
This too, shall pass.
July 5, 2006
I never got to meet Ken Lay when I worked at Enron, although I did get to see him in the Enron board room one day when I was invited into it to pose for a photo opportunity.
I was pretty shocked when I heard he'd passed away this morning. The most interesting news "coverage" of his death was this article I found today on CNN Online (via Reuters). Apparently, the news resulted in many inaccurate postings as to the cause of his death on the Wikipedia site...
I recently had a professor tell me she'd never accept a Wikipedia citation from any student. I love Wikipedia and its 13,000 contributors. But not for breaking news. I actually trust the traditional media for that - which is pretty shocking in itself to admit.
March 28, 2006
Just back in from my family's epic road trip to DisneyWorld. 4,600 KM round trip with three kids in the back of a minivan - through 13 states and countless gas stations/coffee stops. Nice to be home.
Now trying to get back on top of email and prepare for my panel session this coming Friday. I'm moderating a morning session at the iSummit 2006 event here in Toronto, and really looking forward to this one.
The conference is completely sold out, and the line up of speakers and panellists is really impressive. The organizers have done a terrific job pulling together an agenda that includes senior execs from all of Canada's major media companies, and many US players too - Bell, Alliance Atlantis, Corus, CHUM TV, Rogers, AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Warner Music, Nelvana, and many others. Plus I'm excited to see participants from the new media universe - with people from Creative Commons, OurMedia, Organic, Bryght, PubSub - and representatives from two of my essential daily online destinations: Pandora and Rocketboom.
My own panel session is titled: "Web 2.oh! A web renaissance?" - which promises to be a great and timely topic to get our collective teeth into.
February 13, 2006
...or at least this particular Monday. Check out the funding announcement Marqui issued this morning!
January 13, 2006
I was lucky enough to represent Marqui on a panel on business blogging yesterday in Tacoma, WA for the Puget Sound chapter of the PRSA. It was an early morning meeting full of enthusiastic communications professionals interesed in blogging, and well worth the time to be there.
The other two panelists were smart, articulate and well prepared. Kevin Pedraja, VP, CMO of Sterling Communications, and Mark Briggs, The Tacoma News Tribune's interactive media content strategy manager - managing six bloggers on staff.
I thought I'd point out the reference I made to Tara's post about comparing wire services here, for those who might want to see it.
On the drive home I had two conference calls, and another three conference calls that afternoon. I grossly neglected my e-mail, and was fretting about it to my acupuncturist last night while trying to relax with needles in my stomach, legs and arms. She said (in her wonderful Mexican accent),
"Janet Johnson! You've had a very busy day already. Give work your brain, not your blood."
Now, I recognize the irony hearing this from a very talented woman who sticks people for a living.
And then she quoted Oscar Wilde, who once said (when asked why he hadn't written for awhile):
"I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works."
I picked up e-mail this morning, and indeed, the world went on without me quite well while I was 'gone.' Leaving the virtual world for the day was actually delightful. Once I got over worrying about what I was missing online.
Some genius, eh?
10/10/2005 10:10
For those marketers interested in the most current thinking about technology and marketing trends, I offer a very interesting white paper on Web 2.0. Written by Tim O'Rielly, a publisher of many excellent books on technology and trends, the paper is a companion piece to the compelling and very well-attended Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco that I blogged last week.
7/1/2005 10:23
Politics used to influence my everyday life a lot when I didn't feel I had a voice. I went to high school and college in the 70's at the height of the feminist movement. My sister still teases me about my intolerance for things like "men working" signs back then. Thank goodness we've come so far beyond that. I rarely have the feminist in me (she's still there) pop up and speak out - it's usually a surprise when she does! One of the proudest moments of my life came in September of 1981 when Sandra Day O'Connor was selected to serve on the US Supreme Court. Today as she announces her retirement, I am joined by many of my friends and colleagues in remembering how proud and hopeful she made us - especially as women. We are grateful for your service. Thank you for all that you've done for us. Live well.
6/10/2005 15:09
I feel as if I've been conspicuously quiet lately. Well, at least I'm hoping some of Our Dear Readers are wondering why Tara has been bearing the brunt of our blogging activities... no one would complain, I'm sure, since she seems to write the more useful and interesting blogs! I'm serving my state right now, on jury duty. I'm not allowed to talk about the case at all, until it's over. But I think I can say that serving on my first jury has been (even so far) pretty amazing. We all get so caught up in our own lives - family, friends, work and such - that we lose sight of the systems set up to support our greater community. I have to admit, I did everything possible to avoid serving. I have been able to defer for years. But I finally had to show up and was selected to serve. It couldn't have come at a worse time at work. (Right. We always say that. Which is why we defer.) Now, people who listened to our "Alphabet Soup" presentation with AMI Partners were probably delighted, because Tara did an excellent job. I'm sure the AMA panel discussion in Seattle went along fine without me, too. eMail and voicemail is mounting. But you know what? I've got some new perspective. And that's invaluable. Because it's not about work. And it's certainly not about every-day life. I get to spend time participating in our justice system! In a world where we read too often about bodies being discovered in mass graves, genocide and vigilante justice, it is pretty amazing to participate inside the courtroom. Even if it takes longer than I hoped it would, I think it'll make me a better employee for it. So, Dear Readers, enjoy Tara's posts. If you've tried to connect with me, forgive my tardy responses. I'm learning about the justice system from the inside. And from what I've seen so far, it really works. That's pretty cool for something more than 200+ years old.
4/29/2005 12:23
A recent study commissioned by HP revealed that people who obsess about the many forms of communication available to them - e-mail, text messages, phone calls (dubbed "infomania") - have a 10-point drop in IQ. That's twice the drop caused from smoking marijuana. According to a BBC report, the University of London psychologist who carried out the study said that unchecked infomania could reduce workers' mental sharpness. Just think about that the next time you're at home or on vacation, twitching to check your e-mail. And remember the old PSA - 'this is your mind on [drugs].' Maybe we can all trade a little speed of response for some rest and relaxation.
2/18/2005 15:49
...with the new PubSub earthquake subscription service. Yep, you can now "find out whenever an earthquake happens anywhere in the world." You can pick which region(s) you want to monitor and even define a minimum magnitude. Personally, I find this service a bit odd. But for all you earthquake addicts: go forth and track!
December 30, 2004
A wise man once told me that people lose their creativity when they're about four years old. At the ripe old age of 17, that made me profoundly sad. Here I am, thirty years later, wondering still whether it isn't true?
For example, I see smart, accomplished marketers paying more attention to metrics and measurement than pushing creatively into new territories. And when I do see true creativity, I'm stopped still in my tracks.
In an age where technology has freed us from the drudgery of our forebearers, why aren't we firing up our imaginations and letting them take us to new territories?
I make my living in front of a screen and on the phone, largely. The closest I get to nature (from a condo in downtown Portland, Oregon) is through watching hummingbirds bob and weave around a feeder I've put right outside the window that I face.
Unfortunately, (like many others) my imagination is mostly stretched these days by incredible weather and earth forces that jolt the world. And by the horrors I see carried out in war-torn and hunger-ravaged countries.
What do I do to improve my creativity? I saw a pretty amazing movie yesterday that I think everyone should see: Finding Neverland. It gives me hope that imagination (and the appreciation of it) is not dead. Go see it!
You're going to hear from the people of Marqui in this blog. I'm hopeful that we'll provide you with creative ideas and recommendations to stretch your imaginations. I'm convinced that our bloggers (if you read them) will stretch ideas and tell stories that will fuel many interesting debates.
This will be a big ride. I hope to have a huge smile on my face and my hair on fire when we get to the other side.
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